Cooks, Short Order pay in the U.S.
$36,120avg. a year
$17.37 an hour · 138,650 employed
Cooks, Short Order in the U.S. earn an average of $36,120 a year and a median of $35,880. Pay is highest in Hawaii ($44,930) and lowest in Alabama ($24,860).
$35,880Median pay
$17.37Average hourly
+34%Avg. pay since 2020
138,650Jobs in the U.S.
Top-paying states for cooks, short order
Average pay by state. Swipe to see the top 10.
1460 jobs
Hawaii
$44,930
$21.60 an hour
21,900 jobs
Colorado
$44,170
$21.24 an hour
31,700 jobs
Washington
$43,990
$21.15 an hour
4
Rhode Island
$43,410
$20.87 an hour
51,880 jobs
Arizona
$43,360
$20.85 an hour
61,910 jobs
District of Columbia
$42,780
$20.57 an hour
74,760 jobs
Massachusetts
$42,700
$20.53 an hour
830,740 jobs
California
$42,260
$20.32 an hour
9
Connecticut
$42,250
$20.31 an hour
10850 jobs
New Jersey
$41,380
$19.89 an hour
Why people trust JobPayFacts
Official government dataEvery number comes from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics wage survey of employers, not self-reported salaries.
Every state and city830 jobs across all 50 states, D.C. and 199 large metro areas.
Updated every yearNew figures each spring when BLS releases them. This site uses May 2025 data.
Cooks, Short Order pay, charted
Pay over time
United States, annual wage, May of each year
AverageMedian
Where the jobs are
Employment by state, May 2025
Average pay by state
May 2025 · tap a state
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Under $32k$32k–$35k$35k–$40k$40k+
Top-paying metro areas
Average pay, May 2025 (areas with 100+ jobs)
| Metro area | Avg. pay | Hourly |
|---|---|---|
| Kahului-Wailuku, HI | $52,560 | $25.27 |
| Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO | $51,530 | $24.78 |
| Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | $49,560 | $23.83 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA | $46,250 | $22.24 |
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA | $45,720 | $21.98 |
| Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA | $45,590 | $21.92 |
| Napa, CA | $44,260 | $21.28 |
| Vallejo, CA | $44,070 | $21.19 |
Related jobs
- Cooks, Restaurant$38,730
- Food Preparation Workers$35,290
- Cooks, Fast Food$32,390
- Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria$38,810
- Cooks, All Other$39,150
- Cooks, Private Household$53,680
Average U.S. pay, May 2025
Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS
Cooks, Short Order pay in every state
States without a figure had too few jobs or too little survey data for BLS to publish.
| State | Avg. pay | Median | Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | $24,860 | $22,330 | – |
| Alaska | $40,570 | $37,780 | 330 |
| Arizona | $43,360 | $46,630 | 1,880 |
| Arkansas | $31,560 | $30,510 | 160 |
| California | $42,260 | $42,930 | 30,740 |
| Colorado | $44,170 | $42,450 | 1,900 |
| Connecticut | $42,250 | $42,450 | – |
| Delaware | $38,960 | $38,500 | – |
| District of Columbia | $42,780 | $42,450 | 1,910 |
| Florida | $34,570 | $34,240 | 5,050 |
| Georgia | $29,370 | $26,870 | 3,870 |
| Hawaii | $44,930 | $43,110 | 460 |
| Idaho | $39,740 | $40,090 | 120 |
| Illinois | $37,640 | $37,440 | 2,630 |
| Indiana | $26,850 | $21,940 | 2,940 |
| Iowa | $34,960 | $34,090 | 1,160 |
| Kansas | $29,600 | $27,400 | 640 |
| Kentucky | $33,160 | $31,840 | 650 |
| Louisiana | $29,110 | $26,260 | 1,990 |
| Maine | $36,730 | $35,360 | 1,120 |
| Maryland | $38,290 | $36,800 | 3,250 |
| Massachusetts | $42,700 | $44,290 | 4,760 |
| Michigan | $34,620 | $34,510 | 2,560 |
| Minnesota | $33,030 | $32,150 | 870 |
| Mississippi | $27,140 | $28,180 | 1,890 |
| Missouri | $37,390 | $38,490 | – |
| Montana | $33,420 | $33,240 | – |
| Nebraska | $33,080 | $30,530 | 1,810 |
| Nevada | $35,100 | $37,780 | 790 |
| New Hampshire | $33,740 | $32,330 | 2,320 |
| New Jersey | $41,380 | $40,720 | 850 |
| New Mexico | $36,560 | $37,150 | 750 |
| New York | $38,320 | $35,550 | 18,300 |
| North Carolina | $31,680 | $31,290 | 3,170 |
| Ohio | $30,280 | $29,290 | 6,000 |
| Oklahoma | $32,860 | $35,130 | 760 |
| Oregon | $39,790 | $38,550 | 1,780 |
| Pennsylvania | $25,130 | $19,910 | 3,510 |
| Rhode Island | $43,410 | $46,250 | – |
| South Carolina | $29,340 | $29,640 | 900 |
| South Dakota | $34,180 | $32,380 | 2,000 |
| Tennessee | $31,620 | $30,210 | 2,510 |
| Texas | $27,610 | $25,320 | 7,540 |
| Utah | $37,990 | $38,010 | 320 |
| Vermont | $41,030 | $38,830 | 670 |
| Virginia | $32,600 | $31,200 | 3,350 |
| Washington | $43,990 | $42,760 | 1,700 |
| West Virginia | $28,120 | $27,440 | 620 |
| Wisconsin | $30,050 | $28,130 | 2,270 |
Metro areas with the most jobs
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA
$42,440
12,410 jobsNew York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ
$39,330
9,990 jobsBoston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH
$41,600
4,460 jobsSan Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA
$46,250
4,430 jobsWashington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV
$40,010
3,850 jobsRiverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA
$37,950
2,280 jobsBaltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD
$38,190
1,940 jobsSan Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA
$39,760
1,830 jobsQuestions and answers
How much do cooks, short order make?
The average is $36,120 a year across the U.S. Half earn more than $35,880 and half earn less (the median).
What is the hourly pay?
The average hourly wage is $17.37, and the median is $17.25 an hour.
Which state pays cooks, short order the most?
Hawaii, with an average of $44,930 a year. The best-paying metro area is Kahului-Wailuku, HI at $52,560.
What is the pay range?
The lowest-paid 10% earn under $23,440 a year, and the top 10% earn over $46,460.
Sources and notes. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025 (trend: May 2020–May 2025), occupation code 35-2015. Wages are gross pay before taxes and don't include overtime premiums, tips, bonuses or benefits; self-employed workers aren't included. Year-to-year changes can partly reflect survey method changes, so treat the trend as a guide. How we use the data. JobPayFacts isn't affiliated with BLS.